"To Er is Human": Elon Musk again hires employee who resigned from racist publications

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Billionaire Elon Musk decided to rehire Marko Elez, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee, after an X poll showed overwhelming public support. The Tesla CEO asked users whether Elez, who resigned over racist social media posts, should be reinstated. The poll received 78 per cent approval, leading Musk to announce Elez's return, saying, "To err is human."


The 25-year-old resigned on Thursday after his past posts went viral. One of his now-deleted posts read, "Normalise Indian hate," while another said, "You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity." A post from July further added, "Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool."


Despite the backlash, Musk, Vice President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump all backed Elez's return to his federal government position.


Musk's poll, phrased as, "Bring back DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?" saw an overwhelming 78 per cent positive response, while just 22 per cent voted against his rehiring.


Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025



Following the results, Musk announced, "He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine."


🫡

He will be brought back.

To err is human, to forgive divine. https://t.co/TV6SJIb5P6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 7, 2025



As part of DOGE, Marko Elez had direct access to the US Treasury Department's payment systems, Wired reported. These systems, including the Payment Automation Manager (PAM) and Secure Payment System (SPS), handle Social Security payments, tax returns, and other federal disbursements - amounting to over $5.45 trillion in 2024.


Elez's deleted X account, @nullllptr, previously operated under his name and made inflammatory posts advocating for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act and a "eugenic immigration policy." It further expressed hostility toward people from India in Silicon Valley and made controversial remarks about the Middle East, saying, "would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth."


Marko Elez, a Rutgers graduate, previously worked at SpaceX, Starlink, and X, focusing on AI. His hiring was part of Elon Musk's effort to recruit young, internet-savvy loyalists to DOGE, which has significantly altered federal agencies since Trump's inauguration.